Tires and other objects are often tested to detect defects that may occur during the manufacturing process and/or to verify the quality of the product. For example, tires may be tested to identify possible tread defects, sidewall defects, belt misalignment, bubbles, and/or inclusions.
The testing techniques may be destructive or non-destructive. Destructive techniques refers to techniques where the product is dissected (e.g., and typically scrapped thereafter) to view an internal portion of the product. Non-destructive techniques refer to techniques that allow the product to be inspected without damaging the product. In the tire industry, such non-destructive techniques have included pneumatic balance techniques, mechanical balance techniques, digital projection imaging techniques, and/or machine vision imaging techniques. While these destructive and non-destructive techniques are useful, such techniques are often merely applied to a sample set of products due to, among other things, the length of time it takes to perform the inspection.